Bob Kravitz: Pacers' biggest offseason move may have been hiring of Nate McMillan

Jul. 14, 2013

FILE - In this Jan. 30, 2012, file photo, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan directs his team during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City. McMillan joined the Pacers' coaching staff this offseason, replacing Brian Shaw, who became the Denver Nuggets head coach. / (AP Photo/Jim Urquhart, File)

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ORLANDO, Fla. - The Indiana Pacers didn’t get hurt too badly in terms of free-agent losses this summer. Tyler Hansbrough? Never learned how to play off the bench. Jeff Pendergraph? Great locker room guy and showed some flashes, but not a difference-maker.

There was one free agent loss, though, that mattered.

That of associate head coach Brian Shaw, who left to take over as coach of the Denver Nuggets.

That’s why Frank Vogel and the Pacers jumped at a chance to grab Nate McMillan, a former NBA player and a man with more than 900 games of head coaching experience, to replace Shaw as the team’s associate head coach.

“Frank really feels former players are a big part of a coaching staff,’’ McMillan said before a recent Pacers summer league game. “The similarity I have with Brian is we’re both former players who’ve had some success. I don’t have the NBA title (like Shaw), but I’ve got three Olympic gold medals.’’

It says a lot about Vogel that he has continued to surround himself with high-caliber assistants who aren’t afraid to tell him “no.’’ That’s not true of every head coach, especially the insecure ones, but Vogel, along with team President Larry Bird, wanted a leaner, better coaching staff that was filled with guys who have either been a head coach or have eyes on being a head coach someday.

“I think it says he’s confident in himself,’’ McMillan said of Vogel. “Sometimes, when you’re not as confident in your surroundings, you don’t want those threats around you.

“I was the same way when I coached (in Seattle and Portland). I took over in a similar situation where I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare. I was only an assistant for a year and a half before I took over. So I wanted someone around me who could take my spot, if necessary. If you could help me accomplish what I needed to do with my team, I wanted you on board. I wanted strong guys and I know Frank wants the same thing. He doesn’t want you sitting back and not saying anything.’’

McMillan arrives with a pretty long and impressive resume. He coached the Seattle SuperSonics from 2000-05 and the Portland Trail Blazers from 2005-12 before being let go late in the season. Since then, he has interviewed for a couple of head coaching jobs, but there was never mutual interest.

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Then, earlier this summer, he found himself unable to sleep, and around 6 a.m., he placed a call to his former boss in Portland, Pacers General Manager Kevin Pritchard. He told him, “If Brian Shaw gets a head coaching job, I’d be interested in (Shaw’s previous) position.’’

A few weeks later, McMillan was in Indianapolis for interviews.

“It was important for me to go into a situation as a head coach or as an assistant with an organization that had a vision, a plan, and was following that plan,’’ McMillan said. “Indiana had all of that. They’re already doing all of that.

“I’ve always had young, rebuilding teams (in Seattle and Portland), and there’s such a difference between developing teams and experienced teams. I wanted a team that’s ready to take that next step, and in Indiana, everything is in place here. Looking at it from the outside, it seemed like everything was in place as far as what I was looking for.’’

The McMillan hire was a big one because the Pacers can’t afford to backslide this summer, even in the coaching ranks. The NBA’s Eastern Conference is getting better with each passing day. The Heat are still the Heat. The Bulls will see the return of Derrick Rose. The Brooklyn Nets mortgaged their future to add Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and create a starting five that might be the most imposing in the league. The Cleveland Cavaliers, though still young, have added some interesting new pieces. And the New York Knicks aren’t going away, having added former No. 1 draft pick Andrea Bargnani to their roster.

The Pacers, as is their habit, remained low-key this summer, but did what they had to do. They retained David West. They added two backup point guards, C.J. Watson and Donald Sloan. They picked up Chris Copeland, a long-range shooter who will allow Vogel to play smaller lineups when the time is appropriate.

And they added McMillan. (They will eventually add another assistant coach to replace Jim Boylen, who left to become Gregg Popovich’s lead assistant in San Antonio.)

McMillan doesn’t mince words; he still wants to be a head coach in this league, and that’s understandable. He was very successful, and would have had a title-contending team in Portland if Greg Oden and Brandon Roy hadn’t suffered debilitating injuries.

He’s not going to run after any head coaching jobs but has made it clear to the Pacers, if opportunities present themselves, he wants to be able to pursue them.

That’s what the Pacers want and need: guys who have the chops to be head coaches elsewhere.

Shaw was a devastating loss, but it’s not quite as big a loss anymore, not with McMillan by Vogel’s side.